


Afterglow

by mikunicchi



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Angst, Community: arashi_exchange, Eventual Happy Ending, M/M, Rating: NC17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 23:00:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16438448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikunicchi/pseuds/mikunicchi
Summary: Sho is just too stubborn to let himself fall for Nino, yet it is impossible to prevent.





	Afterglow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yoru_no_hikaru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoru_no_hikaru/gifts).



> Written for
> 
>  
> 
>   
> [ **yoru_no_hikari** ](http://yoru-no-hikari.dreamwidth.org/)  
> 
> 
> in Arashi Exchange.  
> A big thank you to Beta-san, who helped me a lot!<3
> 
> A/N: I totally forgot to post this. Well, I am a bit hesitant about posting it but oh well haha  
> Warning: Sho is a bit... horrible in this (I'm not good with tags and I don't know if this counted as dubious content? anyways please be warned) and this also happens to be my very first NC17 attempt so… please be nice to me ^^;;;

Everything had started to go down almost a year ago when his wife had suddenly asked for a divorce. Sho had honestly never felt this shocked in his whole life. His wife had been watching him with cold eyes as she had laid the papers down in front of him. _She's serious,_ was all that Sho had been able to think as he had looked over the perfectly written papers.

"Why?" Sho had asked shocked, frustrated, irritated, angry or whatever you want to call it. He had been in a whirlwind of emotions which had made it impossible to tell them apart.

His wife had averted her gaze which hadn't made Sho feel any better. "My boyfriend wants to get married," she had said seemingly not really feeling ashamed of it at all.

" _Your boyfriend wants to get married_?!" Sho had said mouth agape with surprise which even had surpassed his anger.  
  
She had just nodded in reply.

"How long?" Sho had asked through gritted teeth.

"Eh?"

"For how long have you been messing with me?!" He had shouted, neither caring about the neighbours nor his wife (or should he say ex-wife?) flinching with fear. Certainly, Sakurai Sho was an admirable guy who had perfect control over himself. But then again, no one could have expected him to stay calm in this situation. Anyone would have been angry, right?

"For a year," his wife had answered.

"Get out of here," Sho had said trying to control himself. "My lawyer will contact you about everything."

His wife had opened her mouth as if she had wanted to say something but had closed it without managing to say anything. She had just stood up and walked away. Just like that. And Sho had felt something inside him break so hard that it could never be made whole again.

***

Sho held out pretty well. His parents were disappointed and sad over his divorce since they liked his wife pretty much. _If only you knew,_ Sho thought bitterly but refused to enlighten them with the nasty stuff. His parents, as lovely as they always were, didn't pester him for details and accepted Sho's decision.

The divorce proceedings happened fast since both of them wanted it to be over as soon as possible. They never saw each other again, because Sho avoided being in the house when his wife was taking her belongings. For a while, Sho tried to stay at that house but nothing seemed to be getting better so he soon moved out and sold the house.

With everything going on in his life, he started to search for some distraction and that was how he ended up with Nino.

Nino was a colleague who shared an office with Sho and a couple of other people. They had been working in the same room for at least seven years but honestly, Sho hadn't really thought about the petite guy who worked at the desk next to him or anyone whom he shared a room with. They were a crowded company and there was no way for Sho to know everyone on a personal level. He knew a couple though. For example, Jun from the developing department and Okada, the section chief of the sales department Sho worked in.

Of course, even though no one knew why he had gotten divorced from his wife the news were moving fast and everyone was looking at Sho with pity in their eyes. Everyone was so careful around Sho. And that was depressing Sho so much. He felt like suffocating.

Only Nino seemed to be neutral in his behaviour towards Sho. He continued to throw work onto him and didn’t offer him any comforting words which only made Sho feel worse than he already did.

“Sakurai-san, you made some mistakes here,” Nino pointed out on the first day after the divorce had gone through. Sho blinked a few times before taking the paper and looking at it with distracted eyes. Nino sighed, then circled around his own desk to show what was wrong with the documents. He leaned onto to desk, so close to Sho that he could smell Nino’s scent. “On page three,” he turned the pages patiently. “Here, your counting is wrong,” he pointed at the numbers.

“Oh… I’m sorry,” Sho mumbled, still very numb about everything. “I’ll fix it right away.”

“That would save me, thanks,” Nino answered with a smile and returned to his desk again.

Sho watched him for a while in confusion. He was acting so… normal. Then he shrugged it off, returning to his work to fix the accounting.

The next days continued like that. Sho was under those very considerate stares but Nino was indifferent about it.

“Sakurai-san, if you’re going to photocopy, can you please copy these too? A pair of each, thanks,” he would say casually handing Sho the papers.

“Want some coffee? I’m too lazy to make some for only one,” he would say like he always asked.

Sometimes Sho would catch him as he skipped his lunch break for the sake of playing with his Nintendo DS. _This one must be new,_ Sho realized when Nino skipped lunch for three consecutive days.

“You shouldn’t skip lunch,” Sho said on the third day as he placed a small sandwich in front of Nino. “It’s not healthy.”

“Hmm… Okay, mom,” he mumbled, way too focused on the game in his hands. But he didn’t skip lunch the next day even though he was still playing with his DS in the cafeteria.

It was nice. Sho felt like he could return to real life for good, thanks to Nino.

***

Then one day, Sho saw him in a bar, swaying his hips sinfully while matching the rough rhythm of the loud music. He was wearing a v-neck white t-shirt and dark blue jeans which weren't revealing too much but certainly fed Sho’s imagination. It was so different from the Nino which he saw everyday in his unobtrusive suits. _Delicious,_ Sho thought unconsciously as he couldn’t tear his gaze apart from his coworker. It should have felt weird, really. He knew this guy and had been working next to him for almost seven years already but now, here he was, showing that body to Sho without even knowing it.

Sho felt himself get hard while he was watching Nino from the dark corner he was sitting in. And strangely, this, being turned on by a guy, didn’t seem wrong. Not that Sho was gay but he couldn’t really put his finger on it. He only watched Nino for a while. The latter was clearly having fun with his pretty talented dance moves as if they were choreographed. He saw Nino’s lips moving to the music. He laughed, danced and had fun which was completely different from the Nino he knew. Sho wanted to gaze around and see who he had come to that bar with but he was unable to look away from Nino.

Then suddenly Nino turned around, his eyes locked with Sho’s which were dilated from surprise. His mouth formed a surprised ‘o’ and he said something to his possible friend and made his way towards Sho to greet him.

“Sakurai-san, good evening,” he said. _Yes, he’s still the same Ninomiya,_ Sho managed to think. He opened his mouth, which was dry from the scene he had just watched.

“Um…” he cleared his throat. “Good evening, Ninomiya-san,” he said.

“You came alone?” Nino asked casually and Sho remembered that neither of them were seniors since they had been hired nearly at the same time.

“Yes,” Sho answered. “You?”

“Just some guys from high school. Oh and Aiba. You know him, right? From human resources,” Nino pointed towards them as they waved over to Nino.

“Is that so…” Sho managed to say, trying not to feel disappointed by the fact that he can’t make Nino stay with him. “You dance?” Sho asked suddenly, trying to stall the conversation a bit more.

Nino surprised him, as a blush crept up his neck. It was even more endearing since Sho could catch the redness on Nino’s cheeks even in that dim light. “I used to,” Nino said shyly. “This time it was just a bet,” he shrugged trying his best to seem indifferent.

Sho smiled and did something that surprised both of them. He leaned closer and whispered into Nino’s ear. “You were very good.” He didn’t miss the way Nino shivered.

“Thanks…” Nino mumbled, not being able to back off in order to put some distance between himself and Sho.

“You should do that more often,” Sho said trying to keep himself calm.

“Do what?”

“Dance,” Sho licked his lips.

“Hmm…” Nino tilted his head, revealing his creamy skin and his luscious neck. Sho couldn’t help himself but stare at that neck. “I thought you want me to do something different,” Nino said daringly, snapping Sho from his lost thoughts. Sho’s eyes returned to Nino’s face only to find that he was smirking. His curvy lips looked so soft and his posture was open for something more, if Sho wasn’t misreading it.

“Like what?” Sho inquired.

Nino leaned forward as if he wanted to tell Sho a secret and whisper it into his ears. “Like this,” Nino breathed onto Sho’s neck and without any hesitation, he bit Sho’s earlobe teasingly.

Sho’s eyes widened. He had always thought that Nino was someone who was very discreet, who wouldn’t act like this towards his coworker.

“You just don’t know me,” Nino whispered once again into his ears as if he had been able to read Sho’s thoughts. Sho gulped and Nino chuckled. Then he backed off, a teasing smile was adorning his cute face and his eyes were shining with something Sho hadn’t seen in his coworker before. Was it joy? Was it something else? He couldn’t put his finger on it but Sho liked it very much. “Sorry, I didn’t intend to tease you that much,” Nino said when Sho stayed silent in a state of shock. “I’m a bit drunk you see,” Nino liked his lips and Sho’s eyes were fixed on that unintentional act. “It must be uncomfortable,” he chuckled nervously. “I know that you clearly don’t like men.”

“What if I say I like you?” Sho asked, the unpremeditated words spilling from his mouth.

This time, it was Nino’s turn to be shocked. “You what?”

Sho chuckled. “I was just thinking it would be nice to see you without those clothes,” Sho said not thinking too much about it. Wasn't he just here to find some distraction anyway?

Nino looked at him for a good long minute as if measuring him. Then he leaned closer, putting his soft, small and very cute looking hands on Sho’s. The warmth emitting from Nino and his scent mixed with sweat was intoxicating Sho for good. “Meet me outside,” Nino said with a smile before leaving Sho there to return to his friends.

Sho blinked a few times. He watched Nino as he leaned over to one of his friends, a tall guy who looked really nice in his skinny jeans and dark shirt.

Seeing that, Sho hurriedly paid his bill and rushed out to wait for Nino. It was cold and Sho’s breath was forming white clouds, giving Sho something to focus on. It wasn’t long after, that Nino came to meet him outside, wearing a nice black coat.

“You know somewhere?” Sho asked immediately. Honestly speaking, he neither wanted to visit Nino’s place nor go to his own place. It sounded way too private for a one-night stand.

“There are a lot of hotels,” Nino shrugged as he started walking down the street, leading the way. He didn’t say anything. Sho was glad about that. They found a hotel pretty quickly and it really didn’t take them a lot to find their way to a room.

Nino’s lips met Sho's as soon as the door was closed. He leaned onto Nino, letting his tongue wander inside Nino’s mouth as he opened it immediately. He should have been feeling odd from kissing a guy but he decided it didn’t matter at that moment. It was just a distraction, he told himself. Anything to make him forget about the things that happened with his wife ( _ex-wife,_ he reminded himself). Anything to make him forget about how his wife had cheated on him for a year.

They stumbled hastily onto the bed. Sho didn’t think twice when they started to take off their clothes. Apparently, Nino was the one who was experienced with what they were doing. He leaned over to kiss every part of Sho. First his face, sucking the breath away from Sho’s lungs then he gradually moved to Sho’s neck. Nino gave him pretty much time and attention to get him used to this. It was amazing how he knew this kind of foreplay. Nino’s featherlight lips came into contact with every part of his body and Sho couldn’t help but exclaim loudly when Nino’s lips brushed his hard member. He looked down where Nino was kneeling. Their eyes met and Sho was unable to break their eye contact. His breath hitched as Nino’s mouth closed around his cock. Nino was keeping their eye contact steady and Sho hadn't known that there was something this intimate. He was aroused to the point that he felt like he was losing his mind. Nino moved slowly at the moment, making Sho feel every movement of his head. Those prolonged movements and the eye contact made Sho feel like he was falling apart under Nino’s touch and a thought popped up in his mind. He would like to do the same to Nino. Oh, he would like that very much… He wanted to see him fall apart under his touch more than Sho did. But for now, he let Nino suck him wholeheartedly.

“Ninomiya-” Sho tried to warn him but Nino continued to look at him without averting his gaze. That drove Sho over the edge and he couldn’t stop himself anymore.

When everything was over and Nino pulled back licking his lips, tasting the bitterness of Sho’s come, Sho couldn’t tear his gaze away. Then he reached down, pulled Nino up and threw him onto the bed while hovering over him. Sho felt like he finally broke free from his chains. He kissed Nino, every part of him. He moved his lips towards Nino’s ear, remembering how good it had felt when Nino’s lips had touched him there. He licked Nino’s earlobe, before starting to suck it. “Sho-!” Nino’s ragged breath was such a nice, lewd melody in Sho’s ears. He moved to Nino’s neck, his lips lingering there for a bit more, while his hands moved down to find Nino’s weeping member. Nino arched his back when his fingers touched him there. Intermittent moans and groans were leaving Nino’s lips as he was playing with his dick.

He moved his head back to Nino’s left ear. “Tell me,” he whispered to Nino before placing another kiss there. “Tell me what to do,” another kiss, this time onto his neck. “Tell me what you want,” this time he licked Nino’s neck.

And Nino did. He took the lube blindly from the bedside table and covered Sho’s hands with it before guiding Sho’s hand down. Sho smiled internally. This was something new, something very pleasant. It wasn’t easy but Nino was a good instructor and it didn’t take him long to find Nino’s sweet spot. He moved his fingers like Nino indicated him, soon turning Nino into a mess under him.

“Yes- _ah!_ Like that-!” was the only thing Nino could utter between his unchaste moans. Sho smirked. _Nice,_ he thought. Knowing that he was the one who could do this to Nino was turning him on very much. He felt desired so much that it was perfect.

Sho came that night a couple more times as he and Nino had some more rounds until the morning. At some point, Sho got used to doing it with a male, with Nino, so it was indescribably perfect.

***

For Sho, it had been too good to call it a one-night-stand and forget it the next morning. And when Nino agreed, they decided to continue. It was a casual but promising relationship since they both liked the sex part very much. It was easy, uncomplicated, an efficient way to access sex.

This… _thing_ with Nino continued for almost a year. Surprisingly, he was probably having the best sex in his life. It strangely didn’t feel wrong and seeing Nino fall apart under his touch was such a satisfying thing. Sho was learning quickly and he was excellent at performing what he had learnt so far. Hearing Nino call his name while he always stayed loyal to his surname when they were at work was turning him on very much. No day went by without Sho meeting with Nino. It was a secret between them and gradually Sho recovered from the shock of having been cheated on for a year. He was only realizing it now, the strange behaviour of his wife whenever he was trying to kiss her and much more. He would be lying if he said he didn’t love his wife, oh he actually loved her very much. But they had grown apart and Sho hadn't noticed it until it had been too late. He had fallen too deep to realize it, and he was determined to not fall too deeply again for anyone.

 _It’s just a distraction. A very good one indeed,_ Sho reminded himself over and over again. Nino was a nice and decent person, caring in his unique way. He wouldn’t force Sho anything yet he would make sure that Sho was feeling good. He would bring his desert from lunch and silently place it on Sho’s desk before anyone could notice. He was perfect, making Sho feel loved and wanted.

Nino was perfect. He was simply perfect. Yet, Sho wasn’t ready for letting this _distraction_ become something more.

***

Their last night together was a night full of ecstasy, just like the others they had shared together. Being in the cheap hotel didn’t matter at all when Nino threw his head back with a shameless moan, which made Sho smirk internally. The petite guy's nails were marking his bare skin on his back as he moved his lubed fingers deeper into Nino with a frustratingly slow pace. Nino chanted his name again and again while Sho was having a weird pleasure from hearing his name spilling out of Nino's mouth. He lowered his head to suck Nino's neck, to make sure that he was marking him there. Nino gasped, his hands leaving Sho's back to tangle with Sho's already messed up hair. He clutched the strands of his hair, pulling it aggressively as he got gradually louder.

Sho smirked, this time not internally but very aware of his action. He liked how Nino crumbled and fell apart under his ministrations. He moved his lips towards Nino's Adam's apple. Kissing all the way along, he slowly moved his lips over Nino's neck. Damn, he knew how Nino was sensitive when it came to his neck. Well, he was sensitive all over but Sho liked the noise Nino made when he sucked his neck the best.

He pushed his fingers into Nino once again, torturously slow and this time and Nino started to beg. "Sho... please..." God, how much he liked hearing his name from those lips. This was such an exclusive moment because Nino always called him Sakurai-san if they weren’t sharing a bed. His free hand moved to one of Nino’s dark nipples, playing with it.

"Please, what?" Sho asked him calmly before he lowered his head to suck that delicious nipple too. He liked teasing Nino, very much.

" _Please..._ " Nino said again, not in a state to form coherent sentences when Sho pressed his prostate mercilessly.

Sho chuckled and he decided to finally give this man what he wanted. He moved his fingers out of him and Nino whimpered at the loss. However, Sho wasn’t a cruel person (Well, that actually depended on who you asked.) so he swiftly ripped open a condom and rolled it onto his hard cock.

“You ready?” Sho wanted to confirm.

Nino moved his head up and down as he cried out a “Yes!”

Sho smiled and he placed himself at his hole, slowly pushing inside Nino. He was still careful, still caring despite teasing him. Because well, Nino was a nice guy and he didn’t want to hurt him. But Nino was a man full of surprises and soon a very breathy plea reached Sho's ears.

“Faster,” Nino demanded, making Sho’s control crumble under this needy statement. And Sho honestly wasn’t strong enough to resist this. It was strange, so very strange as he wondered how Nino had gained so much control over him. But that was neither the time nor the place to question it and Sho was sure that he would be forgetting it once he was out of Nino’s bed.

So he only moved faster, just like he had been asked to. He thrusted into Nino over and over again, letting his ears be filled with Nino’s lustful voice. He was slowly but surely reaching his climax as he buried his face into the crook of Nino’s delicious neck. He inhaled there, which drove Nino crazier than was possible at that point.

“Nino…” Sho breathed. “I’m so close…”

Nino couldn’t say anything as he just wrapped his leg around Sho’s waist, making him go deeper. He let out a loud groan when Sho’s delicate hands found his own weeping cock and started to stroke it with a rhythm matching his thrusts. It was maddening and soon Nino came. Sho followed him soon after as he collapsed onto Nino’s body, panting heavily. Nino too, wasn’t doing any better. After a few moments to catch his breath, Sho pulled out of Nino and took the condom off, tying and throwing it into the dustbin of the cheap hotel they were staying. He brought a wet cloth from the bathroom to wipe Nino off and when he was finished he threw the washcloth into a corner because he didn’t care at all. He then collapsed onto the bed next to Nino. Their routine was always the same. But somehow… There was something different about the whole thing which Sho couldn’t really see coming. The petite guy with whom he shared his bed frequently, circled his arms around Sho, turned his face so that he could reach Sho’s lips and kissed him in a way he hadn’t before.

And _oh-!_ What a kiss.

Sho simply felt his brain leaving his head as Nino’s soft and curvy lips touched his, suddenly setting something on fire in Sho. It was strange because those lips had touched Sho's body a lot and this wasn’t their first kiss, no, Nino kissed him every time they finished a very exciting session. Yet these kisses were becoming something rather magical. It was so raw, maybe more than the amazing sex that they had just shared. He gasped, tried to think of backing out just like every time because damn! This wasn’t supposed to be in their relationship. Still, there was nothing wrong with the kiss. It wasn’t like they had a rule that forbade kissing. Also, the kiss felt immensely perfect. So Sho kissed Nino back like he did every time. Every time he did kiss Nino back, he thought he should be out of his mind when he did it because he answered Nino’s kiss, equally passionate. Their tongue played a loving game for a while as they rubbed and stroked each other before parting in need of air. Sho’s heart swelled with feelings that he wanted to keep away but it was already too late. He felt his shield cracking under Nino’s sweet warmth as he caressed Sho’s bare chest affectionately.

Nino was smiling so brightly and something inside Sho collapsed, making him feel naked in his soul. Sho felt his heart beating painfully in his chest. He tried to swallow, wanting to tear his gaze from the petite guy, failing royally at doing so. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He shouldn’t be feeling like this. Oh god, he wasn’t even into guys, he thought in panic. At first, Nino didn’t say anything, he just adjusted his body, pressing his face to the crook of Sho’s neck. “I love you,” Nino whispered with a tone so low that Sho would have had trouble hearing it if they hadn't been so close. Nino clutched Sho’s body as if his dear life was depending on it and Sho couldn’t not embrace that body which fitted perfectly into his arms. It didn’t take long for Nino to fell asleep but Sho was wide awake, thinking and freaking out a little with these weird emotions whirling inside him.

***

The next morning, Sho left Nino wake up alone in that cheap hotel. This was the first time that he had run away from Nino like this. Mostly he would wake him up and tell him that he was leaving just to feel less of the asshole he was. But this time, Sho literally ran away. He hadn't been able to sleep at all for the whole night and when the sun had shown its first light, he had teared himself apart from Nino and run away. And now, he was at the office earlier than anyone, trying to concentrate on his work but failing at it.

 _It’s not good,_ he thought. It wasn’t good at all. His distraction, his casual, uncomplicated relationship with Nino was becoming something rather complicated and it gave Sho a serious headache. He couldn’t tear his mind apart from the kiss that they had shared the night before.

A sudden thought crossed his mind when he was thinking how to stop this. _Find someone else,_ was the only thing that made sense in his head. Sho didn’t think he was in trouble for finding someone. He was handsome enough for that right? So it should be easy. Easier than sleeping with Nino, and probably without a headache. He rubbed his temples.

“You okay?”

Sho was startled by the sudden voice next to him. He looked up, only to see Nino there. Sho blinked with surprise. He looked around, only to see there wasn’t anyone beside them in the office. _Of course,_ he thought. Otherwise, Nino wouldn’t be talking to him while standing this close and not masking the worry shining in his eyes.

“I’m fine,” Sho answered curtly. His eyes were fixated on his computer screen, focusing on nothing.

“You left early,” Nino stated. _Does he sound sad?_ Sho thought but dismissed that thought immediately.

“I had something to do,” Sho answered trying his best not to sound too rude.

Nino only mumbled a faint, “Ah, is that so?”

And soon, Sho felt him returning to his own desk and starting his computer to work. Sho felt Nino’s gaze on him for some time but he kept looking in front of him, focusing on his work.

That was the last time he spoke to Nino.

***

After Nino, Sho tried to move to another distraction which happened to be a colleague from human resources. His name was Masuda. They met at another bar, Masuda seemed like he was fancying Sho a lot and he was great in bed, which worked perfectly for Sho.

Masuda was nice. He was talkative, knew many things to entertain them both but deep down Sho knew that he wasn’t Nino. He ignored it quickly; it wasn’t like he was in love with Nino or anything like that. It _definitely_ wasn’t like that.

Sho remembered that Nino had friends at human resources but somehow it had never crossed his mind that Masuda could be one of them. Lucky for him, Masuda wasn't but apparently, Nino heard everything at some point because the other party wasn’t that secretive about all of this. Of course, Sho had no idea about neither Masuda rambling about their affair nor Nino having heard everything.

And before Sho was able to realize it, he had lost Nino completely.

***

That morning started pretty much normal for Sho, if you could call it normal. He blindly snoozed his alarm; because that was the best thing he could do blindly at that moment. Sho tried to turn around and pushed away the heavy arm resting on his waist. He looked neutrally at the person next to him, and couldn’t help but feel like a total asshole. He moved Masuda’s arm, and got out of the bed. He sighed, and rubbed his face as he reached over to turn off the alarm completely before it went off again. He then walked towards the bathroom, not really trying to hide his nakedness.

Everything seemed stupid when he finally faced the mirror. He looked tired, he looked unsatisfied and mostly he looked lonely even though he had shared his night with Masuda. Probably because every time he had started something with someone, he had always ended up thinking about Nino. After Sho had put an end to their private meetings, their relationship at work turned back to when they were just two colleagues working next to each other. Nino continued to address him as Sakurai-san and never brought him any desserts anymore. Even though they had never talked it out, Nino seemed to understand.

Sometimes, Sho would catch himself staring at Nino, who had a pout adorning his face. It was hard to just cut it out, Sho reasoned.

It took him a long time to realize the unconscious movement of his lips forming Nino’s name, whenever he had visited someone else’s bed. Being with Nino was too natural. Every day he had shared with Nino was ingrained into his whole body so it was impossible to get rid of.

The distraction wasn’t working, and he felt very much out of place. Sho left the hotel which he had shared with Masuda a couple of times, with a weird feeling that morning. He was thinking that his day couldn’t get any worse but when he went to the office, Nino wasn't there.

***

When Sho placed his briefcase onto his own desk, he took a glance to the one next to his. He frowned at the sight of it. Usually, Nino’s desk would be full of things that he liked. A Nintendo DS, a picture of his mother and sister smiling, another picture of a shiba inu which had once belonged to Nino, a tiny cactus given to him by Aiba, a case full of various pencils, documents for the day and much more. So why was Nino’s desk completely empty?

The feeling of disappointment was rising but he dismissed those thoughts for the sake of working. But he was unable to focus as the clock kept ticking and Nino never appeared. _Is he sick? What if he has been involved in an accident?_ Sho’s worried thoughts were slowly making him feel more and more uncomfortable when Okada came to answer the questions about Nino’s whereabouts.

Okada cleared his throat when everyone was present. “Could I have everyone's attention, please?” He looked around for a while to gather everyone’s attention. “Ninomiya-san resigned yesterday,” he said calmly. “It was sudden and I’m counting on everyone to take over some of his work.”

Sho, who couldn’t believe his ears, stood up. “What do you mean he resigned?!” he exclaimed louder than he had expected.

Section chief Okada blinked a few times because of the sudden outburst of Sho. “He delivered his resignation letter yesterday at the end of his shift and left,” Okada said. “I didn’t know you two were so close.”

Sho flinched at those words. “We weren’t…” Sho mumbled, lowering his head as he stood there feeling a lot of stares on him. “I’m sorry,” he murmured as he sat down and tried to be invisible for the next couple of hours.

During their lunch break, Sho caught Okada just on time before he left with everyone else. “Okada-san, can I speak with you a bit?” he asked politely. Okada gave him a confused look but nodded nevertheless.

“Don’t tell me you’re leaving too,” Okada said when they were finally alone in the office.

“What? No, of course I’m not,” Sho said immediately. “I just wanted to ask about Ninomiya.”

“About Nino? What about him?” Okada asked with narrowed eyes. _Nino?_ So Okada was kind of close to Nino?

“Um… I was just wondering why he left?” Sho averted Okada’s gaze.

“He didn’t tell me no matter how much I asked,” Okada answered. “You have something to do with this sudden decision of his?”

“I…” _I don’t know._ “I mean, no, I don’t.”

Okada sighed. “Well, it’s not my business if you two had something or not but Nino seemed pretty depressed and very much determined when he handed me his resignation letter.”

“Is that so…” Sho mumbled. He took a deep breath and smiled. “Well, I was just shocked. He has worked next to me for a very long time after all. I’m sorry for keeping you from your lunch,” he bowed.

“It’s okay, I guess,” Okada said hesitantly before making his way towards the door. He stopped at the doorway, looking at Sho with an unreadable expression. “Want to come to lunch too?”

Sho smiled apologetically. “I still have things to finish, please go ahead Okada-san,” he kindly declined the offer.

 _So, Nino is gone,_ Sho thought disappointed, not really knowing what he was disappointed with. He went to sit down at his desk. His eyes wandered to Nino’s desk which seemed deserted. A bitter smile adorned his lips as he continued to look at the empty desk, absolved from every trace of Nino. Sho gulped, it suddenly felt very lonely to be there. _Strange,_ he thought. He quickly looked away, unable to look at that once familiar desk anymore. _So Nino is gone,_ he thought again, this time tasting the bitter taste of loneliness on his tongue.

The _thing_ was over. This time for sure.

***

A month after Nino’s sudden resignation another morning came and Sho crawled out of his bed which was empty this time. It wasn’t like he had been having a hard time to find someone else to share his bed but oddly, it felt horribly wrong. Even sharing his bed with Masuda wasn’t satisfying mentally. It didn’t give him the exact pleasure he had shared with Nino which lead him to think more about the petite guy. In the end, he also stopped seeing Masuda the week before and returned to his lonely life, this time feeling out of place even more.

That morning, when Sho was heading towards the office a simple thought crossed his mind. It was just as natural and as simple as thinking about breakfast.

He wanted to see Nino.

He needed to see Nino.

He needed Nino.

The thought, the craving, the awareness that had been building up all this time were too much and he was unable to stop them as they crashed over his whole being. His steps stopped suddenly and his eyes met with his own reflection on a random window which was somehow smiling despite its tiredness and loneliness. He felt weird, but it felt so right at the same time. This was probably the reason why Sho was confused and why he had pushed Nino away. He needed Nino and he had just been too blind to realize it.

Sho realized that very moment how unfair he had been. He had been the one who stopped seeing Nino. He was the one who had done it, completely ignoring how happy Nino had looked when he had been in Sho’s arms. Perhaps, Sho himself had also been happy when he had been wrapped in those slim, strong yet soft arms of Nino.

 _A month,_ he thought, wanting to slap himself. _And even more than that._

He had just been too stupid and too blind to see everything. And he usually was so proud of his own intelligence. What a hilarious story.

***

On the same day at the end of the lunch break, Sho managed to corner Aiba Masaki who he knew was a friend of Nino.

“Um… Excuse me but you’re Aiba-san, right? Can we talk a bit?” Sho asked Aiba.

Aiba looked at him with narrowed eyes. _He definitely knows something,_ Sho thought. “About what?” Aiba asked coldly, surprising everyone around him.

“What’s wrong Aiba-chan?” A man who emitted a calm atmosphere asked with a confused and equally shocked expression.

“Nothing, Kazapon,” Aiba answered curtly before turning to Sho again. “What do you want?”

“I…” Sho started hesitantly. _Maybe this was the wrong decision,_ he thought, but he refused to back out. “I wanted to ask if you know where Nino is,” he asked seriously.

“I know,” Aiba said flatly. “But you won’t know,” he added cruelly.

“Aiba-san… I really appreciate your friendly feelings but-” Sho started but Aiba cut him coldly.

“I don’t need your appreciation. And I don’t like anyone who hurts my friend.”

“Did he tell-?”

“He didn’t tell me anything,” Aiba seemed pissed off and by the reactions that he got from the others, it was pretty rare to get Aiba pissed off. “But I know it has to have something to do with you.”

Sho bit his tongue. He gulped. “I need to see him,” he said truthfully. “Aiba-san, please! I don’t mind begging you here but I need to see him,” he said pleadingly.

Aiba looked at him for a whole minute in silence. The guy called Kazapon shook his arm and whispered something to make Aiba stop torturing Sho. It seemed effective because Aiba finally gave in. Aiba sighed tiredly. “He’s in Yokohama.”

“Yokohama?” Sho asked confused.

“He is working as a dance instructor with a friend from high school,” Aiba explained as he shuffled through his wallet to take out a card. Sho took the card which had the name of the dance studio on it, Orion, and the name of the owner, Ohno Satoshi. “You know, if you ever dare to hurt Nino again, I’m saying _again_ because I’m sure it had something to do with you even though he never said anything, be sure that you’ll earn a punch from me,” Aiba stated clearly.

But Kazapon chuckled next to him. “But you've never punched anyone,” he stated.

“Shut up,” Aiba answered unpleasantly. “It may be like that but this doesn’t mean I _can’t_ ,” he said clearly.

Sho bowed deeply to Aiba. “Thank you Aiba-san, I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

Well, either way he wasn’t planning to hurt Nino again.

***

The next day, Sho lied about being sick and went to Yokohama. It wasn’t that far away but the whole journey seemed longer than any of the ones before. He didn’t call the dance studio and ask for Nino. Well, if he wanted to _call_ Nino it would be easier to reach him via phone. But Sho wanted to see Nino and a call would be meaningless either way.

Yokohama was a nice place and Sho liked it very much. He had proposed to his wife at Yokohama and even taken her there for anniversaries, Sho remembered. Strangely, he didn’t feel any anger towards his wife anymore. If it hadn't been for everything that had happened until now, he wouldn’t have fallen for Nino. And now, here he was, pursuing his love in Yokohama which only meant that this city would always have a special place in his heart.

He found the dance studio called Orion pretty fast. It was a nice building, not too flashy or plain. It had a nice balance.

He went in, already feeling out of place. He hesitantly approached a lady who had a gentle smile on her face. “Excuse me, I was looking for Ninomiya-san,” he said apologetically, not really knowing what else to say. He just realized that he had gone there with absolutely no plan.

However, the lady smiled gently. “He is somewhere else currently but please wait here Mr...?”

“Sakurai. Sakurai Sho,” he said and the lady took a note.

“I guess you came to get some information about the dance classes right?” she asked as if wanting to confirm it. Sho wasn’t there for any dance lessons but he nodded since he didn’t had a better idea. “Ninomiya-san will be here in about half an hour or so,” she informed him and gestured towards the seats. “Please wait a bit.”

Sho nodded, murmuring a thank you to the woman and went to sit down. The lady served him a cup of tea. He smiled gratefully, taking a careful sip. He felt his hands getting sweaty as he was waiting for Nino. _What if he doesn’t want to see me? What if he kicks me out? Or worse, what if he acts like he doesn’t know me?_

Those thoughts were eating him away when the door opened and Nino came inside with another sleepy looking man in tow. They were talking about something. Well, Nino was mostly doing the talking and the other man was listening. Nino’s steps and words came to a stop when he saw Sho, who was now standing in front of him.

“Why are you here?” Nino asked too surprised to react differently.

“To get some information about the dance lessons?” Sho said trying to smile a bit.

“What?” Nino frowned confused.

“I’m lying. Just came to see you,” Sho answered as he held his two hands together, in order to keep them from trembling. “Can we talk privately?”

Nino snorted. “To talk about what? I don’t think we have anything to talk about anymore.”

“I have things I want to say,” Sho insisted.

“Well, tell them to Masuda then,” Nino grumbled.

“How do you know about Masuda? Wait, don’t answer that here. Can we go somewhere private?” Sho pleaded.

Nino heaved a sigh. “Oh-chan, go ahead. I’ll catch up soon,” he told the sleepy looking man who was standing next to him and watching Sho with an unreadable expression. Then he slowly nodded and walked past Sho down the corridor. Nino signaled him to follow, and Sho did. They went down another corridor until they were in a room which had wall-length mirrors.

“So what do you want?” Nino asked once they were alone after closing the door. Sho opened his mouth but before he could say anything Nino held his hand up to stop him. “Please don’t say that you want me back. I’m neither an idiot nor deaf. I clearly heard from Masuda himself how talented you were on satisfying him, not that I didn’t know about it myself,” Nino grumbled. “And it’s so stupid you know?” Nino continued as if something had finally released its grip on him, so he just let out what had been bothering him for all those lonely nights. “After a month, oh no, more than that actually but that doesn’t really matter right now, what made you come here and meet me? Don’t tell me Masuda wasn’t good. Sadly, I had to listen to a very detailed description of what you two had done in the bedroom. Ah, and you know what? I feel so stupid for waiting for a call or anything from you all this time!” Nino was panting when he had finished.

Sho honestly felt horrible after hearing that much. He had no idea about Masuda talking about what they had been doing and he also had no idea Nino had heard all of them.

“Say something,” Nino said almost pleadingly. Sho gulped. He didn’t know what to say. What he had done to Nino couldn’t be any worse but he knew he had to say something. Anything. So he said what he had wanted to say all this time, directly, not even trying to decorate it with nice words.

“I love you, Nino,” he said looking truthfully into Nino’s eyes, hoping that he would believe it.

Nino let out a laugh. “You kidding me? If this is how you try to get a nice _distraction_ back it really is not working.”

“I’m not trying to get a _nice distraction_ back,” Sho sighed. “I just wanted to tell this to you because, I don’t know,” he ruffled his hair frustratedly. “I’m a mess. Yes, I’m just a huge mess. Do you know why I divorced my wife?” He looked at Nino who seemed confused by the sudden change of topic. “Because she wanted to marry her boyfriend with whom she had been cheating on me for a year,” Sho smiled sadly. “And I proposed to her here, in Yokohama. What a strange coincidence. I hated her with all my might before I met you but now I’m grateful for that divorce because otherwise, I wouldn’t even be thinking about you. And you see, I'm here in Yokohama again, trying to pursue a love that I messed up from the beginning.” Sho knew that he should have prepared a nice speech but he was pouring out everything that had been piling up in his heart all this time. “The thing between you and me was what saved me. It was so intense, Nino and I was so stubborn to not fall for it. I tried to resist it, resist you but I can’t anymore,” he chuckled. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have faked a sick day and come here to meet you. So now, I’m laying everything I have in front of you, you can step on it, you totally deserve to.” He took a deep breath. “I love you, Nino. In a way, I have never loved and desired my wife, or anyone. No one is good compared to you because you totally own my heart. And I’m ready to beg you to take me back,” he said in all honesty.

A silence fell between them as Nino watched him with an incomprehensible expression and Sho thought everything was over. This time he would be damned for good. But to his surprise, Nino walked over to him, closing the distance between them. Sho waited for a few heartbeats before Nino was finally in front of him. He was too focused to have Nino so close to him that he didn’t realize Nino’s small hand turning into a fist and punching Sho in the stomach.

Sho let out a painful sound as he doubled over. “Why?” he whined when Nino grabbed the collar of his jacket, making him look up.

“Because you’re an asshole and I know how to punch people,” Nino said with narrowed eyes before he closed the last few centimeters of distance to seal Sho’s lips with his.

Too surprised to react, Sho let Nino kiss him shortly. “And if you ever dare to kiss someone else, you’ll be getting more of that from me,” Nino assured Sho.

“The kiss?” Sho tried to joke.

“The punch,” Nino hissed. “And maybe some kicks. I have strong legs, you know.”

Sho chuckled. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?”

“Definitely not,” Nino shot back. “You have to at least buy the latest PS4 for me,” he said sternly before his expression softened and seemed more like the Nino Sho knew. “But for now,” he whispered after taking a deep breath, “I love you too.”

Sho smiled. Then he leaned forward to kiss Nino.

Everything felt right. He felt complete and he finally felt at home.


End file.
